AAC Taking Pitches From Potential Hosts For Men's Tournament

MEMPHIS — The American Athletic Conference is listening to officials from other venues who might want to host the men's basketball tournament.

"We have an option to come back to Memphis next year," commissioner Mike Aresco said, "but we've always been of the mind that we're going to be open-minded about next year."

Hartford and Orlando have been mentioned as cities making a push to get the tournament next year. Aresco said the plan is to move the tournament around over the next decade, so it would seem a matter of time before viable venues get their turn.

UConn AD Warde Manuel shed little light, saying, "we'll let the tournament play out, evaluate it all and see what happens."

"We really need to plant our flag in various places around our footprint," Aresco said, "We have a Northeast presence, a Mississippi Valley presence, a Texas presence. We've been thinking in terms of two-year chunks, maybe one year, depending on how our experiences are."

Aresco said the league would let Memphis know its plans within six weeks.

One thing he ruled out was the playing the men's and women's tournaments in the same place.

"I don't see that," he said. "The women's tournament could be overshadowed by the men's tournament to some extent. We wouldn't want the men's and women's tournaments to compete for attention, I think they need their own venues."

Aresco said he liked the way the women's tournament at Mohegan Sun came off last week. "We had good crowds at Mohegan when UConn wasn't playing," he said. "People enjoyed being there."

Along those lines, he is interested in venues where visitors would find things to do, a "festival atmosphere." Memphis, with its Beale Street, has that appeal. So would Orlando.

"We have tilted toward places where we felt we had a built-in fan base," Aresco said. "You have to know who you are and where you are in your stage of development."

Jim Calhoun's vague remarks in an interview with ESPN's Andy Katz during the UConn-Memphis game created a bit of a stir, which he found amusing.

"I'm not planning on coaching again," Calhoun told The Courant, as he watched the Houston-Louisville semifinal game.

He won't completely shut the door on coming back. He never has. Calhoun, 72, had numerous health issues when he retired in September 2012, but now he looks and says he feels much better. He has expressed interest in an international coaching experience, which would not be a long-term commitment, but he said he is not entertaining any offers or plans. He ran some basketball clinics in Israel during a trip there with school officials in the fall.

Calhoun still comes to UConn nearly every day in an advisory and fund-raising role.

Shabazz Napier was one of six finalists for the Hall of Fame's Bob Cousy Award, presented to the nation's top point guard. The other five are Kyle Anderson of UCLA, Tyler Ennis of Syracuse, Marcus Paige of North Carolina, Aaron Craft of Ohio State and Fred VanVleet of Wichita State. A nationwide screening committee narrowed the list from 47 to six, and now the Hall of Fame's committee will make its decision, the award to be presented at the Final Four. Kemba Walker won the Cousy Award in 2011. … After UConn's victory, Boatright got into a little jawing match with Cincinnati's Titus Rubles. "He's always got something to say and, you know me, I'm going to respond," Boatright said. "But it was just basketball." … With his 15 points, Napier moved into sixth place in career scoring in UConn history, passing Corny Thompson. ... UConn coach Kevin Ollie started Niels Giffey against Memphis to try to spread the floor, create more space for his guards. "Louisville [on March 8] tried to wear Shabazz and Ryan Boatright down and we wanted to give them more space." One imagines he would stay with that lineup when the Huskies face Louisville again. … Omar Calhoun did not get into the game against Memphis. … There is a coaching opening in the AAC. South Florida fired Stan Heath on Friday. "I'm not upset, I'm not bitter," Heath told the Tampa Bay Times. "I'm disappointed we didn't get things done the way I wanted them." USF finished 10th in the league, and lost to Rutgers in the first round in the tournament.